A Day in the Life of the Basilian Fathers

As a religious community, Basilians live a life built upon a structure of community, prayer, work in a common charism -- in the same tradition that has existed for almost 200 years.

The lifestyle of a Basilian differs greatly depending on the environment in which you live and the apostolate to which you are assigned. Both of these conditions are determined by a series of conversations which include, but are not limited to, the Superior General, your Spiritual Director and yourself. Furthermore, it is quite possible that during your journey with the Basilians, you could travel throughout many cities and countries and support the Church through a variety of works. Our primary charisms are education and evangelization, which allow a Basilian to continually engage the people of the Church in a manner to which they feel called and can be of most service.

The lives of us in fomation revolve around school work and prayer. Our primary ministry is our school work. However, our education does not just happen at school, but through the relationships we form with all those we meet. Fr. Anthony Gittons commented once, “Values are not learned from a book, but from relationships.” Our house and our lives, we believe, are a witness to our community about the love we know in God. This love drives our lifestyle.

People are often curious about what it is like to live in a religious house. In short, it is not unlike many other families. We are all brothers, with good times and bad times. Our day begins and ends with prayer together. Each evening we gather around a meal to tell the story of our day. Most often, we enjoy sharing this experience with other friends and guests. The days are filled with study, class and various ministries. Really, our lifestyle could be summed up in our relationships – with God and other people.